Two men sent to prison for human smuggling

The U.S. District Court meted out prison terms yesterday on two men for recruiting three Chinese in an attempt to smuggle them into Guam by sailing from Tinian. The scheme came to light after the trip was aborted due to rough seas.

Chief Judge Alex R. Munson imposed a six-and-a-half month sentence on Edward M. Fleming, who was convicted of attempted alien smuggling for financial gain. For Chinese national Huang Zong, who was convicted of the same offense and another count of conspiracy, the judge imposed two 10-month prison terms, both of which would be served concurrently.

The judge gave credit for the time that Fleming and Huang had already spent in jail.

Huang financed the supplies needed for the boat trip, including gasoline, while Fleming piloted the boat.

The judge also placed Fleming and Huang on two years of supervised release after the two finish serving their respective sentences.

As for Fleming, the judge ordered that he be placed on home confinement for six-and-a-half months during the term of the supervised release. While on home confinement, Fleming will be subject to electronic monitoring at his own cost based upon his ability to pay as determined by the U.S. Probation Office. The judge also tasked Fleming to perform 200 hours of community service.

Meanwhile, Huang was ordered to voluntarily leave the CNMI after serving his sentence, or he would be delivered to immigration authorities, the judge said.

Federal prosecutor Jamie Bowers lodged charges against Fleming and Huang for recruiting at least three Chinese nationals to unlawfully enter Guam in exchange for money sometime in April this year. Each passenger paid $1,500 for the boat trip to Guam and would have paid $2,500 to $3,500 more had the trip been successful.

The boat left Tinian in the early morning of April 5 and headed to Guam. However, authorities busted the human smuggling attempt when the boat got lost due to rough seas as it headed to Guam. The situation forced Fleming to call for navigational assistance. The group aborted the Guam trip and sailed to nearby Rota instead.

The judge denied the request of the defendants to set aside the guilty verdicts by a jury after a full-blown trial. The defendants’ lawyers contended that the prosecution failed to show evidence “with the requisite specific intent to bring aliens to the United States other than the designated port of entry.”

The judge dismissed the defendants’ argument, citing numerous circumstances that proved the case against them. Munson noted that the boat used was not a commercial vessel, that the amount the passengers paid for the trip was inordinately high, and that the passengers had no luggage, identification cards, trip tickets, and Guam entry documents, among other circumstances.

“[The prosecution] is not required to prove where entry was to occur, only that it was to occur at a place other than as designated by a U.S. immigration official,” ruled the judge.